Adam and Jeff discuss Chicago’s must-win Game 7, to clinch the Eastern Conference and make a sixth trip to the NBA Finals – May 31st, 1998 – the Bulls take on the visiting Pacers, at the United Center.

We cover all the key aspects of the game. We discuss the NBC broadcast and its commentary team of Bob Costas, Doug Collins, Isiah Thomas, Ahmad Rashad and Jim Gray. We chat about Indiana’s rookie coach, the iconic Larry Bird, and his drive to give the Pacers their first-ever trip to the NBA Finals. Conversely, Phil Jackson dubbed this 1998 season, The Last Dance. Something had to give. We talk about each team’s roster and our memories and opinions on this do-or-die match-up.

As per usual, the conversation is scattered with humor and plenty of insight. A must-listen, for die-hard NBA fans, regardless of the team you support.

Today marks the 20th anniversary of Michael Jordan‘s (first) NBA return. I’m delighted to welcome back Luc Longley to the podcast. We discuss his recollections of the hoopla surrounding MJ’s return to the Chicago Bulls, following Jordan’s 1993 retirement.

This conversation is much more than simply chatting about Jordan’s comeback. We also delve deeper into Luc’s career with the Bulls and reminisce about some of Chicago’s memorable playoff series’, versus:

Further, I share my story about meeting Luc in 1991 and he talks fondly about the friendships he developed playing alongside memorable teammates, including Bill Cartwright, John Paxson and B.J. Armstrong. We find time to talk about his assistant coaching role with the Australian Boomers, the future of basketball in Australia and the importance of players like Andrew Bogut, Patty Mills, Joe Ingles and Dante Exum.

We also reference a great article that recently appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald, titled, “Luc Longley – from running with the Chicago Bulls to falling in love with basketball again”. You can read the feature here (written by David Sygall).

Oh, and Luc totally tricks me into believing a ludicrous story about Jordan, that somehow I didn’t even bat an eyelid at. This is a really enjoyable chat.

In part two of this special double-episode, I welcome back Marquette great and NBA veteran, Jim McIlvaine. If you missed part one, we discussed Jim’s college career in-depth, where he was a stand-out at Marquette. He talked about his selection in the 1994 NBA Draft and first three NBA seasons – including, a completely open and honest assessment of his free agent move from the Washington Bullets to the Seattle SuperSonics, in 1996.

This episode features part two of our chat – we continue discussing Jim’s playing days with Seattle, his relationship with George Karl and the coaching staff, plus, more great stories from on and off the court. Jim talks about his career-ending injury whilst a member of the New Jersey Nets.

We also talk about some of the radio and TV commentators he admires, and chat about his current role as a broadcaster at the university where he starred; Marquette. Towards the end of our mega-chat, Jim shares a wonderful, funny story about Gene Hackman – star of the excellent basketball movie, Hoosiers.

In a first for the podcast, this conversation will be released in two installments. Our chat was almost two hours, in length – I’m pretty sure that Jim’s wife had the authorities on speed dial, ready to report him missing – however, all’s well that ends well – Jim returned to normality at its conclusion and I couldn’t be happier with the finished episode.

In part one, we discuss Jim’s early years playing basketball and learn a great deal about his college career, where he was a stand-out at Marquette. This includes a funny story about Marquette’s early 1990s exhibition series that touched down here in Australia, then onto New Zealand and Fiji – complete with a near international incident. Also, if you’re a fan of the great documentary, Hoop Dreams, you won’t want to miss this chat.

We talk about the 1994 NBA Draft and Jim’s two seasons in Washington, playing for the Bullets. He openly-discusses his free-agent move to Seattle – a contract widely debated at the time and still mentioned on occasion, to this day. On top of this, we learn about the importance and value of the National Basketball Retired Players Association (the NBRPA), of which Jim is a lifetime member.

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more open, honest and engaging guy, than Jim – I’m confident you’ll enjoy this conversation as much as I did, recording it. Thank you, Jim, for your generous availability.

Part two of this conversation will examine Jim’s career in Seattle, his trade to the New Jersey Nets and injuries that ultimately led to his NBA retirement. We also discuss Jim’s broadcasting career, great basketball movies and his classic encounter with Gene Hackman.

We’re now in the final days of 2013, as this episode is released. I hope you thoroughly enjoy the holiday season and have a great New Year. Exciting plans are ahead for 2014 – I hope that you continue to join me on this podcast journey. Thank you very much for your support.

Mark talks about his entry into competitive basketball and we discuss his quick rise into Australia’s basketball elite. We chat about his time at the Australian Institute of Sport and later, playing for the Adelaide 36ers, in Australia’s NBL.

We talk about Mark’s decision to move interstate, to play for the Melbourne Tigers – joining forces with Andrew Gaze and Lanard Copeland – helping the team win its first NBL title, in 1993. Recently, the Tigers celebrated the 20th Anniversary of that victory and Mark talks about the reunion and special bond he shares with those players and personnel.

We cover Mark’s outstanding Olympic career, where he represented Australia on four occasions. Mark talks about his opportunities to attend NBA training camps, plus, his 1997 season on the Philadelphia 76ers roster. He is open and honest about his time in the NBA and offers wonderful insight into the trials and tribulations of the experience.

In 1997, Mark returned home to Australia. We talk about the contrast of leaving a struggling NBA franchise, to resuming his career at home and winning a second NBL title, just months later. We look back at Mark’s 2002 MVP season and he also offers his opinion on the current state of basketball in Australia, plus, his future ambitions within the sport.

The conversation is scattered with references to the history of Australian basketball. Aside from his Tigers teammates, we talk about Shane Heal, Luc Longley, Andrew Vlahov and numerous other greats of Mark’s era.

We talk about his childhood, playing basketball and how he handled the intense media spotlight in HS and college. He chats about his key role with Team USA, between his freshman and sophomore seasons at Georgia Tech. We delve into his NBA career, including the 1991 Draft, held in his native New York. Kenny talks about European legend and former teammate, Drazen Petrovic. We discuss his battles against Michael Jordan and Kenny provides ‘The Answer’, to a fan-submitted question. In 2014, Kenny is releasing a book – we chat about that, too.